1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention relates to user interfaces. More specifically, the field of the invention relates to presenting a plurality of objects within a display area of a graphical display.
2. Description of the Related Art
Early computer systems used command-line operating systems and software applications. These command-based systems provided a user interface that required the user to memorize a relatively large number of commands in order to perform meaningful work. The user interfaces for these command-driven computer programs required a relatively high level of skill to operate, and were not considered to be “user-friendly.” With the introduction of the IBM personal computer (PC), computers became more widely available, both in the workplace and in homes, and the computer industry soon recognized the need to provide more user-friendly interfaces to computer programs. As a result, many different operating systems were introduced that provided a graphical user interface (GUI). Software applications with graphical user interfaces soon followed, and the vast majority of computer programs running on personal computers today provide a user-friendly GUI.
A GUI provides a user with a graphical and intuitive display of information. Typically, the user interacts with a GUI display using a graphical selection pointer, which a user controls utilizing a graphical pointing device, such as a mouse, track ball, joystick, or the like. Depending upon the actions allowed by the application of operating system software, the user can select a widget by positioning the graphical pointer over the widget and depressing a button associated with the graphical pointing device. A widget is a user-discernible feature of the graphic display, such as a window, icon, menu, or object. A window may fill the entire display, or the display may be split into a number of different windows. Further, a window may in turn include a number of different widgets, which may be different areas that display text, drop-down lists, text entry fields, buttons, etc.